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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY FARHAN HAQ
ASSOCIATE
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
SECRETARY-GENERAL EXPRESSES OUTRAGE AT BOMBINGS IN INDIA
The Secretary-General is outraged by the series of bombings yesterday in the Indian city of Jaipur, which have claimed the lives of a large number of people and injured many more.
He strongly condemns such terrorist attacks, and sends his heartfelt sympathies to the Government of India and to the families of the victims.
BAN KI-MOON INVITES MEMBER STATES TO MEETING ON HOW TO ADDRESS SITUATION IN MYANMAR
The Secretary-General this morning was asked about his recent conversation with UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown about Myanmar, and he noted that he has been talking with many leaders on various ideas about the situation in that country following Cyclone Nargis.
He said that this afternoon, he has invited representatives of key Member States, including donors and members of the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN), to a meeting to discuss what kind of concrete measures can be taken to deal with the situation in Myanmar.
Even though the Myanmar Government has shown some sense of flexibility, he said, it has been far too short. The magnitude of this situation requires much more mobilization of resources and aid workers.
Asked about the Secretary-General’s contacts with the Myanmar leadership, Haq said that the Secretary-General has not been able to contact Senior General Than Shwe by telephone, although he has tried to do so repeatedly. He noted that the Secretary-General on Monday sent a second letter to Than Shwe.
GREATER QUANTITIES OF HUMANITARIAN AID REACHING MYANMAR, BUT MUCH MORE NEEDED
On the humanitarian front in Myanmar, Under-Secretary-General and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes, who briefed as the guest at today’s noon briefing, said that greater quantities of food and water are arriving in Myanmar, but there is still a long way to ago. He noted that as many as 2.5 million people may be “severely affected” by the cyclone and its aftermath.
Local logistic hubs are being set up, Holmes said, but it is difficult to determine how much relief assistance is reaching affected areas. U.N. international staff are not being allowed to travel to the delta, and the hundreds of national staff in that area are “increasingly overstretched”.
There are now approximately 100 U.N. international staff in the country, up from 75, and close to 40 new visas have been issued. The U.N., non-governmental organizations, and international donors have succeeded in getting roughly 25 to 30 flights into Yangon, including several earlier today.
The World Food Programme (WFP) has now dispatched a total of more than 700 tons of rice, high-energy biscuits and beans -- enough to feed 100,000 people. Today, WFP delivered enough biscuits to feed 82,500 people for a day, as well as enough rice to feed 16,000 people for two weeks, by far the largest daily dispatch to date.
Meanwhile, WFP is also trying to get a helicopter into the country so that it can reach people who are inaccessible due to flooded roads. Each helicopter flight would be able to deliver enough biscuits to feed 6,000 people. WFP is also planning to bring in 15 tons of ready-to-eat meals – mostly rice and beans purchased in India – enough to provide 7,000 people with a day’s supply of food.
The World Health Organization and UNICEF are resupplying local clinics and distributing tens of thousands of tarpaulins, as well as fresh water and supplies for water treatment.
Meanwhile, the Food and Agriculture Organization is warning that time is running out to plant rice seeds in June for the main 2008 harvest. FAO notes that each dollar spent on agriculture between now and the end of the year would represent a savings of ten dollars in food aid during 2009. FAO is procuring rice seeds from inside Myanmar, and fertilizers from outside of the country.
SECURITY COUNCIL BRIEFED ON WEEKEND ATTACKS NEAR SUDANESE CAPITAL
The Security Council this morning heard in an open meeting from Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guéhenno about the recent fighting in Sudan, including the weekend attacks by the Justice and Equality Movement in the area near Khartoum. He told the Council that we are concerned that the movement of significant numbers of JEM fighters from Darfur to Khartoum went undetected, adding that the incident underscores the serious shortfalls in the Mission’s resources, especially aerial reconnaissance capabilities.
The Security Council yesterday afternoon adopted a Presidential Statement strongly condemning those attacks and urging all parties to cease violence immediately, respect their obligations under international humanitarian law and commit to a peaceful resolution of all outstanding issues.
Guéhenno also said that there has been an alarming increase of violence in Darfur itself. During the last six weeks alone, violence between rebels and the Sudanese Armed Forces, as well as between rebel factions, have taken place in both North and South Darfur.
The Council continued its discussions about Darfur in consultations.
SECURITY COUNCIL TO HOLD CONSULTATIONS ON SOMALIA AND U.N. MISSION IN ETHIOPIA AND ERITREA
In addition to its consultations on Sudan this morning, the Security Council is also holding consultations on the international tribunals dealing with Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.
Then, at 3:00 this afternoon, the Council will hold consultations on Somalia, and will receive a briefing on developments there from Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe. Also, on the racks today is a letter from the Secretary-General to the Chairman of the African Union Commission, detailing UN support to the African Union Mission in Somalia, known as AMISOM.
In that letter, the Secretary-General says UN support should be geared towards assisting the African Union to build up its institutional capacity to carry out its responsibilities, and to help ensure that AMISOM is deployed, to the extent possible, on the basis of UN standards.
The Security Council this afternoon also expects to receive a briefing from the Department of Peacekeeping Operations on the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE).
UNICEF FEEDS 44,000 CHILDREN IN SOMALIA
Faced with massive logistical and security difficulties, in addition to droughts and soaring food prices, UNICEF has continued its work in Somalia unabated, getting food to some 44,000 children in recent days. The children are among 300,000 displaced Somalis who fled fighting in Mogadishu and are temporarily housed in UN-run camps in central and southern Somalia.
UNICEF says the children will each be receiving 10 kilos of fortified corn-soya blend per month.
U.N. DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME INVESTIGATING SOMALIA ALLEGATIONS
Asked about corruption allegations made against UN Development Programme (UNDP) activities in Somalia, the Spokesperson said that UNDP has made clear that it takes these allegations extremely seriously and is investigating them thoroughly. UNDP now has a new legal framework to process exactly these types of cases. The new Ethics Advisor is part of this new framework.
He said that there are two separate issues that have been raised: retaliation and corruption. These two issues are being dealt with separately.
On retaliation, the Spokesperson said, the office of the Audit and Investigation has investigated the claims and has now submitted its report to the UNDP Ethics Advisor. He will review the issue for possible action and there is a possibility it could be reviewed by the UN Ethics Office.
Regarding the issue of possible fraud, UNDP has been looking formally into these new allegations since the beginning of the year, Haq said. A team of investigators has been working on this and will travel to the region as necessary to examine the situation on the ground. Until that investigation is complete, UNDP cannot address detailed questions emanating from the allegations.
AGRICULTURE NEEDS REINVIGORATING
The Secretary-General this morning addressed the opening of the High-Level Segment of the 16th session of the Commission on Sustainable Development.
He said that, after a quarter century of relative neglect, agriculture is back on the international agenda. The onset of the current food crisis has highlighted the fragility of our success in feeding the world’s growing population. Agriculture needs reinvigorating, he stressed.
The Secretary-General added that we will need to prepare our agricultural systems for the effects of climate change, which is predicted to have negative impacts on agricultural and land productivity in many parts of the tropics – and especially in Africa and South Asia.
EFFORTS MADE TO BOLSTER WORKPLACE ROLE IN GLOBAL AIDS RESPONSE
The International Labor Organization (ILO) is launching a process to adopt a new international labor standard, which would bolster the role of the workplace in the global response to HIV/AIDS.
In a new report, the ILO lays the groundwork for discussion on this labor standard.
It is the first report of its kind to give a comprehensive overview of action taken by Governments and international organizations on HIV/AIDS, with specific reference to the world of work.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT HOLDS BILATERAL MEETINGS WITH ISRAELI AND PALESTINIAN LEADERS: Last week, the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General flagged the President of the General Assembly’s trip to the Middle East. Today, the Spokesperson drew attention to the comments made yesterday by the President of the General Assembly’s Spokesperson about the visit. He noted that the President of the General Assembly held a series of bilateral meetings, including with Presidents Shimon Peres and Mahmoud Abbas, and attended the opening of the “President’s Conference”.
SECRETARY-GENERAL HAS REPEATEDLY CONDEMNED ROCKET ATTACKS AGAINST ISRAELI CIVILIANS: Asked about a rocket attack that caused damage and injuries in the Israeli city of Ashkelon today, the Spokesperson said that the Secretary-General has repeatedly condemned the rocket attacks that have hurt innocent civilians in Israel. He has consistently called for the immediate cessation of such attacks.
BAN KI-MOON SATISFIED WITH MEASURES ANNOUNCED BY MIDDLE EAST QUARTET ENVOY: Asked whether the Secretary-General was satisfied with the measures recently announced by Quartet Envoy Tony Blair, the Spokesperson said that he was, and noted that UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry had issued a statement on Tuesday welcoming those measures.
U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICE HAS EXPRESSED CONCERNS ABOUT HANDLING OF PROTESTS IN NEPAL: Asked whether UN officials were present at protests in Nepal concerning Tibet, the Spokesperson said he could not confirm that, but he added that members of the UN Human Rights Office in Nepal do monitor protests taking place in the country, and have expressed their concerns to the Nepalese authorities that peaceful protests are dealt with in an appropriate and peaceful manner.
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